Spurs playoff hopes rest on MRI

At some point today in San Antonio, Manu Ginobili will enter an MRI machine with its crosshairs pointed at his right elbow.

Whatever that machine uncovers — or, for the optimists among us, doesn’t uncover — could go a long way toward handicapping the Spurs’ chances against Memphis in the first round of the playoffs. You might say the MRI could be the Spurs’ MVP.

The on-the-spot diagnosis of Ginobili’s injury, suffered in a freak collision with Grant Hill in Phoenix late Wednesday night, was a hyperextended right elbow. X-rays taken at U.S. Airways Arena were negative, and that’s a positive. It means Ginobili has no break or fracture in the bone.

The MRI is the next step. It will reveal whether Ginobili has any ligament damage or tear. If that test comes back clean, Ginobili could be back on the court in a matter of days.

In that case, the spacious nature of the playoff schedule could work to his advantage. If Ginobili were only to miss Game 1 on Sunday, he would get a full week to rest his sore elbow, since Game 2 against Memphis isn’t until Wednesday. When Washington guard Kirk Hinrich, then with Atlanta, had a hyperextended elbow in January, he missed exactly one week.

If the MRI does show a tear, then Ginobili’s first round — or more — could be in dire jeopardy.

Doctors won’t know what they’re dealing with until they look at those tests. Until then, Spurs fans can only wait and hope.